Following the debut of the 2021 Mercedes-Benz GLA 250 is also news of the 2021 Mercedes-AMG GLA 35. Because you can’t go three feet from a new Mercedes model today without running into an AMG version of it, too.
First and foremost, the engine and the performance. The GLA 35 has a 2.0-liter, turbocharged, inline-four that produces 302 horsepower and 295 lb-ft of torque, according to a company press release. That ought to make it a properly buzzy little thing. That power is delivered through an eight-speed, dual-clutch transmission and sent to all four wheels.
Mercedes estimates zero to 60 mph acceleration to happen in five seconds. The car is also electronically limited to 155 mph.
The GLA 35 comes with 19-inch wheels, but 20- and 21-inch options are available as well. I don’t know who needs to hear this, but nobody has to have 21-inch wheels. It looks absurd on such a little car. Hell, this car should have been offered with 17-inch wheels and tires with big sidewalls. But I digress.
Inside, you get contrasting red stitching and red seat belts, a very silly feature in sports cars that I have always loved. The MBUX infotainment system also means the two 10.25-inch displays are virtually melded together, giving a sense of one big screen that stretching into infinity (or into your passenger’s kneecaps).
The GLA 35 is also apparently very stiff, as Mercedes explains:
Specific measures to strengthen the front section of the bodyshell help enable the precise turn-in ability and the toe and camber stability of the chassis components, even when driving at speed. A “shear panel”, a bolted aluminum plate under the engine, increases the torsional stiffness of the front section of the GLA 35. Two additional diagonal braces at the front of the underbody also reduce torsion and increase the body’s stiffness.
The front brakes include 13.8-inch brake discs and four-piston calipers. The rears include a single-piston sliding caliper and 13-inch discs.
Five drive settings are available: Slippery, Comfort, Sport, Sport+ and Individual. The Comfort setting, however, probably isn’t all that pillowy-soft comfortable. Past AMG models I’ve driven tend to ride hard no matter which setting you put them in. I’d have to drive the GLA 35 to confirm this, though.
No price was announced at this time. But I’m sure you won’t have to wait long before you can get your hands on one of these.
